The owner had mentioned to me years ago that he sometimes wondered if it might be a COPO but didn’t think it was (not original engine) and even had someone come look at it and determined that it wasn’t. With that nugget of info in my head I did some research on what to look for in a COPO car. Being a novice (I still am), I was looking for a curve neck radiator, big block heater core, disc brakes, 140 mph speedo, 12 bolt BE rear end.
When I saw the car and started looking it over, I fairly quickly believed it was true a low mileage car. The owner stated it was rust free and had all original interior. The interior certainly looked the part and the body was pretty rust free with just a couple of spots that looked a little funky in the rear inner wheel houses. Rockers and floor/trunk pans looked perfect. It had a few of the COPO signs I was looking for (disc brakes, BB heater core) but was missing others (curve neck radiator, 12 bolt rear, 140 speedo). He again mentioned the COPO possibility but again dismissed it since he had a local “car guy” check it out - that guy told him it was a small block car. Here’s what the car looked like when I inspected it in his garage.
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